Beyond the Goblin City
by CoalTrain
Summary: When Jareth shows up in Sarah's home, deceiving all except her as a foreign exchange student, how can he handle such a normal life? And will he be able to conquer this new obstacle he encounters, or be lost in the Labyrinth that is Sarah's heart?
1. Chapter 1

**I am looking for a beta. Anyone interested, send me a message please!**

This will eventually be a Sarah/Jareth romance, but there will be an ACTUAL PLOT before it all. I am not one who just jumps Sarah into it. I'm hoping to have actual character development.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of the Labyrinth. Sue me...or rather the point of this is so you don't.

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"Sarah! Sarah, could you come down here?" 

Hearing Karen, her step mother call for her, Sarah sighed before giving her own response.

"Yes, in just a minute. After I finish this last page," she promised, shouting down the stair case.

Sarah knew what they wanted. They had spent the whole month talking about how they had made arrangements for a foreign exchange student to live in their home. Most likely they had just picked whoever it was up and were expecting her to race down and give a greeting. She couldn't deny that she was excited. After all, it wasn't every day someone got to live with someone from a different country!

Finishing up page 87 in her book, she marked it with a leather string and set it on her pillow before pulling on a pair of her slippers. Pushing her hair over her shoulders she bolted down the stairs, hand gliding along the smooth wood. Had she been a few years younger, she just might have slid down the railing like she had when her parents had lived together.

Turning around the last banister, Sarah found herself sliding on her slippers through the hall. She could hear her father talking in their den, and she quickly hurried in. It was going to be so great, having another sibling-like person in her house.

"Sarah," her dad grinned, looking up at her from the chair she sat in. "Come in and meet our guest."

Looking towards what she now noted was a boy, she couldn't help but find his hair oddly familiar. Clearing her throat, she took a step towards one. No, it couldn't be him. After all, she had defeated him.

Pushing any thoughts of memory coming to her, she brough a smile to her lips. "Hi, I'm Sarah," she grinned. Watching as he turned around, she suddenly felt like throwing up. Standing still, she looked towards her parents, then around the room. She had to be in some sort of nightmare. This was all happening so fast. Quickly digging her nails into her palm, she hoped it would wake her up.

Nope. She was definitely awake. And it _was_ him. The Goblin King.

"Umm..." she stammered slightly, trying to regain her composure that she had lost. This was too much like a horror movie. "Er, what's your name?" Holding out her hand for him to shake, she hoped he didn't notice how much he had caught her by surprise. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Hello, Sarah, I'm Jareth."

He grinned his cruel smile before taking her hand before gently kissing her knuckles. Glancing in her direction, he seemed to mock her. That, or just wait and see what her reaction would be.

The moment Jareth's lips reached her hand, she mentally shuddered yet managed to keep her face straight. Her eyes couldn't be stopped, however, as she glared at him darkly. Then she couldn't halt her sudden snap.

"Aren't you too old to be in high school?"

"Sarah!" her father interrupted, taken aback by her sudden rudeness.

"It's alright, Mr. Williams," Jareth assured him before turning to face Sarah once more. "I assure you that I am 18, a senior as you call it in this high school."

"Yeah, Senior citizen," she muttered to herself.

Once again shocked by his daughter's words, Mr. Williams interjected. "Sarah, what did I tell you? I'm really sorry, Jareth. It seems my daughter has forgotten her manners."

"Oh, not at all. It's very understandable. In our country we all appear much older."

"And which country would that be?" Sarah would not stop her interrogation. She knew if she tried to explain anything to her parents they would just push her off at crazy. Maybe, however, she could catch him in a slip up. After all, how much could he know about the Aboveground?

Smirking, realizing what Sarah was trying to do, Jareth quickly rose to the occasion. "Ah, I'm from sweet Czechoslovakia."

"Really? Czechoslovakia. Funny, seeing as how it's on the verge of being completely split up. I find it interesting that they would send students to America when they should be more worried abou their country itself."

"Sending out students gives hopes for allies," was the only response Jareth confirmed to her.

"Oh really? Then explain to me why you also don't sound Czechoslovakian."

"How would you know? Have you ever been there?"

"No but my mother's an actress and I happen to know a thing or too about accents. Yours sounds barely Czech."

Before Jareth could come up with another retort to fling back, her father had cut in once more.

"Sarah, that's enough! He's only been here for five minutes, he doesn't need to listen to this! If you don't apologize right now you can go straight to your room! We will not live with this for the rest of the year!"

Sarah was completely stunner. Her apologize to him? If they only knew that he had taken Toby. Oh gosh, Toby! How could she stand Jareth being in the house with her little brother?

"Fine," she sighed, looking between her parents and Jareth as if she was giving in before she turned on her heal, stomping up the stairs. Oh yes, she was going to figure out something to do about this. She wasn't sure what, but whatever it was Jareth had best stay out of her way.

No Goblin King was going to stop her.

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**Next Chapter: **Sarah talks to Hoggle in the mirror and Jareth messes inside her dream world. 

I really hope you like this, seeing as it's my first Labyrinth fanfiction and I have wanted to write this for a while. Remember, beta wanted! R/R!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it a lot! Also thanks to this chapter's beta, "Stina" Psalm136. You rock! And Forevermore33, who has also offered to be my second beta. Love you both!**

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"Hoggle, I need you." 

As she looked into the mirror above her dresser, Sarah found herself calling for her friend. She didn't know what to do, and she knew that she had no choice but to ask Hoggle what was going on. With Jareth there in the Aboveground, it felt like she needed to talk to him. If she didn't, she had a feeling she would fall apart.

"Sarah?"

"Oh, Hoggle!"

When her old friend appeared inside her room, she felt herself relax. It seemed as if all of her problems would go away now that she had someone to talk to. After all, it wasn't like she could discuss this with Toby, even if some times she felt like she could have a real conversation with him. It was just that...well, he was a baby. And unfortunately, even with her brilliant imagination, it wasn't enough to forge fake responses from her young half brother.

Rushing over to give him a hug, she carried on in a distraught tone. "I have been waiting for you. Oh, I can't believe what's happened. I'm so nervous and I don't know what to do."

Hoggle immediately looked at her worriedly, wondering what could possibly have gone wrong. It seemed as if her world, just like the Underground, was turning upside down. For some reason it had seemed if the Labyrinth had lost control.

"What is it, Sarah? Are you alright?"

"That's the thing, I don't know," came her passionate response as she looked towards her door with worry, half expecting Jareth to come through it. "Jareth is here, he's in my house. And he's staying for the rest of the year. He's convinced my parents that he's some sort of exchange student. What am I supposed to do?"

Jareth was in the Aboveground? Well, that certainly explained to him why she was so agitated. Not only that, however, but also why the Labyrinth was darker and emptier than usual. He wasn't there to take control of anything.

"You mean he's here, right now?" Hoggle asked, eyes widdening. "Oh this is bad. What if he hears me in here?"

"He won't do anything, I'll make sure of it," Sarah swore to him. "Please, Hoggle...stay with me, don't worry. I need you, I need to talk to you. I can't help but be worried and you're the only friend I have in all of this besides Sir Didymus and Ludo. You're the only one I could talk to now. You're my best friend in the whole world."

"I am?"

"Yes, Hoggle. Of course you are. That's why I need you to help me plan on what I'm going to do to get out of this. We need to get him out of here, back into the Underground. Will you help me?"

Sighing, trying his best to gather his little courage, Hoggle nodded. "Of course, Sarah. You're my best friend, too," he admitted before continuing. "But it may take some time for us to figure out what to do. I'll try and talk to the other Fae here...I don't know who I can all be permitted to talk to but I can try and find out why he's in the Aboveground and maybe if we can get him back down."

"Would you really do that for me Hoggle?"

"Yes, Sarah. After all, I agreed to help you, didn't I?" he asked with a grin before looking around her room. "Do you suppose he can hear us right now?"

"I don't know," Sarah sighed before a sudden defiance crossed her face. "And I really don't care. I hope he does, I want him to know that he's definitely not welcome here and I'll send him back at whatever it takes."

"That's good, Sarah. Because I don't know how much it will take," Hoggle admitted. After all, it could very well take a lot more than they could think of to get him out of her realm and into his own. "I should probably get back and see if any of them are willing to talk to me."

"Okay, Hoggle. Thanks again...I'll call back for you tomorrow," she told him, giving him a smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Of course, Sarah. Any time you need me, just call," he nodded to her reassuriedly before smiling. "We both wonder."

With that, he was gone and Sarah found herself alone. If only she knew, however, that she wasn't entirely alone. For infact, right at that moment Jareth sat in the room that had been prepared for him...the one that would eventually become Toby's when he was old enough for a room of his own. He lounged casually on the bed while a crystal floated above him, allowing him to keep track of everything Sarah had said.

"Hrm...so Sarah, you think you can get rid of me that easilly, do you?" he questioned more as a murmur to himself, shaking his head. "You won't be able to escape me, you pretty little thing. I'll make sure of it."

He had allowed her some unknown privacy as she prepared herself for bed, and then as he once again watched her adjust into her bed, he couldn't help but be captivated by the girl who so quickly fell into a peaceful sleep. It almost made him wish that he had found a way to keep her in the Underground, so he wouldn't have to go through all this torment.

With that he allowed the crystal to come back in corporal form as he tried his best to think of what he could possibly do to get back her attention. Vaguely remembering the peach he had forced Hoggle to give to her, he felt a smirk come upon his lips before he once again let the crystal fly into the air. Sure, without a peach or anything else to forge her memory to forget, she would know very well the factor of this dream. However, there was nothing she could do about it, not when it was true sleep.

"Oh yes, Sarah. You will never be able to escape me. Not even in your dreams."

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Okay. I lied. The next chapter will have Jareth inside her dreams. I just figured this was a good end to a chapter and I could be free to not push myself on the first actual reaction between both Jareth and Sarah.

R/R. I love to know what people think of my story!  



	3. Chapter 3

Here it be. The update. MUCH thanks to my beta, Forevermore33. I hope I fixed it to what you like! Hugs and cookies to you!

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The world was spinning. Sarah had never seen such an array of colors as she wandered through the forest-like realm. It seemed almost like a place she had been in before. Something she wanted to forget, yet couldn't help but hold on to for all the good things that had happened. Like meeting her best friends.

The further she walked, however, the more it seemed as if everything was falling apart. All of a sudden it seemed to come to her that it wasn't quite right. What was she doing here? Not only that, but last she remembered she had been falling asleep. No way could this be a dream.

"Enjoying the view?"

That voice. Sarah resisted every urge to turn around as she stood absolutely still. It couldn't be him...it just couldn't be! She had gone away, it was all a dream. But why did it seem so real? Almost as if it was last time, only she could barely remember it everything that had happened. Just Jareth, as if her eyes had been glued to him. Everything else was a blur, but now as she looked around she knew that she was taking this scenery to heart.

And then she realized that he was once again in her dream. Just like he had before, when he played with her mind. Didn't she have a right to survive on her own, escape to herself without him following her everywhere? How could she escape when he was now inside her own head?

Sighing, she set her face in a straight look before she turned back to look at him, as if tempted to retort but instead she pulled a face of indifference. And sure enough, he was there. "You conjured this, didn't you?" she asked, voice even. Inside she wanted to scream at him. It was so unfair, him toying with her like this. She didn't even want him here now, hounding after her. Unfortunately now she had no choice, and instead she had to rely on herself to get him back where he belonged—back Underground.

"I must say," he smirked, shaking his head. "I have outdone myself once again. My talents exceed ones expectations, do they not?"

His idle comments drove her to the point where she wanted to slap him, to make him realize that this wasn't amusing. This was torture. "I won. I beat you, I defeated the Labyrinth. Why are you after me? I followed all of your rules and now you're breaking them yourself!"

"Who are you to tell me what the rules are?" Jareth questioned, raising an eyebrow suddenly. "I never said I wouldn't come after you any more. I never told you anything about what would happen if you beat me. All though, in all technicality, you never truly defeated me."

"You scum!" Sarah found herself shouting, eyes wide in disbelief. "I go all the way through that horrid maze and you come back...oh my God."

Pausing, she stared at him while her stomach shifted. He couldn't...

Or rather yet, she know he could. And would.

"You're here for Toby!" she accused, all but pointing a finger at him. Her voice was now higher and she felt herself wondering how she was going to save her brother now that Jareth would always be there. Obviously reciting the words wouldn't work this time. She had to do something more.

Jareth took in her assumption and a simple grin spread across his face as he looked towards Sarah. He shook his head, almost as if he found her the most childish thing in the realm. Something that needed to be sheltered yet guided through all of the terrors of the world at the same time.

"Sarah, do you think I'd come all this way for a baby? Really, I would have had him and gone back in this amount of time. No, I've come for a more challenging task, which I think we both know what it is. And believe me when I say that I never fail."

It was Sarah's turn to find amusement in his words. "I guess I can tell you you're not going to get what you want. And might I remind you that you have already failed. When was that? Oh yes, that's right. When you tried to take my baby brother, and I defeated you. Me. So I think it's safe to say there's more than a small chance I can come through once again."

Over confident? Perhaps that could describe her, but she couldn't help but be prideful when she talked to this cocky Goblin King. After all, she had beat him fair and square. No one else had done that before, so she felt a slight advantage over him. However, he wasn't playing by what she had thought were the rules, so part of her didn't know what to think.

"Ah, such sureness. That's something I especially like in you," he grinned, smirking once more. Turning around, Jareth shook his head. "You will be mine, there's no doubt about that. But I'd like you to think about what you're saying. It's yourself you're fighting for now, and either way you're kept on the outside. You can't find out what's going on from one of your friends, you only have instincts to trust. I have told no one this time of my plans. Not just because you have too many of the Labyrinth's inhabitants wrapped around that finger of yours. It's just the prize this time is far more precious."

Pausing, as if to look her over, he smiled softly. "You won't weasel your way out of this one."

"Wanna bet?" she asked, voice dripping with invitation to try and argue with her. Before she could continue with a taunt, however, she found herself shocked to discover he was no longer in front of her.

"Perhaps. Because bets are based on luck. And I've always been lucky," she heard him whisper, and suddenly she felt his fingers on her neck, pushing back stray locks of hair. "Don't fight it Sarah, you know what I want. And I'll get it, too."

Spinning around, eyes wide as she tried to pull away from him, she frowned. He was no longer there. Still, however, she could hear his voice in her mind.

"See you tomorrow, my Queen."

Jolting awake, she turned frantically in her bed. Looking to make sure she was alone in her bed, she sucked in her breath. She wished her mother or father was there…or even Karen…to tell her that it was alright. It was just a dream.

"But that's the problem," she whispered softly to herself. "It was a dream."

Voice shaking, she checked once more to be sure he wasn't standing in a corner somewhere. She took another deep breath. She didn't want to be his Queen.

"Oh Hoggle, please hurry."


End file.
